Marlowe: “Call on the Name YHWH” 7
Introduction Seth’s lineage is marked by the bold announcement that when his first son Enosh was born (4:26a), a person or people began to “call on the name YHWH” (4:26b; cf. Bright, 1959:96).1 This is an epochal point in the storyline (especially from the concern with salvation history). Who was calling and why? It appears to pertain to Sethites, but not Cainites. A Christian reader cannot but think immediately of the New Testament statements, “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21; Rom 10:13), which actually are citations of Joel 2:32a. This option or offer of salvation is present in only one other Old Testament occurrence, Psalm 116:4, where David promises to call on God’s name asking for deliverance from death (see the Appendix). The purpose of the following study is to clarify in general what it means to “call on the name YHWH,” and more specifically how people called on YHWH in the days of the Sethite lineage, as well as what various ways of relating to the Name means for missions or evangelism. “Call on the Name Yahweh” in the OT The typical English translation of h`Dwh◊y M¶EvV;b as “on the name of the LORD” may be understood more precisely as “on the name [that is] YHWH.” The translation “name of the LORD” makes the reader wonder what is the LORD’s name upon which to call? But the statement in Hebrew is a construct of two nouns needing interpretation (since various meanings are possible based on context). Here the meaning may be appositional, “the name that is YHWH” (as opposed to possessive: “the name that belongs to YHWH”). Alternatively, if “name” means “reputation” the translation would be “rely on the reputation of YHWH” (possessive genitive). In the Old Testament “call on the name YHWH” is found in Gen 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; 1 Kgs 18:24; 2 Kgs 5:11; Psa 116:4, 13, 17; Joel 2:32; and Zeph 3:9. Besides “call on the name of the Lord” the Name is accessed four other ways in the Old Testament: “fear” (Psa 102:15; Isa 59:19), “take oaths in” (Isa 48:1), “love” (Isa 56:6), and “praise” (Psa 122:4; cf. Deut 32:3; Job 1:21; Ps 7:17; 30:4; 102:21; 113:1–3; 122:4; 135:1; 145:21; 148:5, 13; Joel 2:26). In Deut 28:10, “All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you” (NRSV).2 In Hebrew this reads, “that the name YHWH has been called upon you.” The word “name” in Hebrew also at times can mean “reputation” (cf. Gen 11:4).